Dale Investigates: Delta Derailed

Most of us would love an extra vacation day. But not when it’s given to you by an airline without your consent. That’s what happened to one loyal Delta customer.

Dick Haines has been a loyal Delta customer for 40 years. He is a lifetime gold medallion member and has always received excellent customer service from Delta Airlines and its employees. That’s why he was so dumbfounded by what happened on a recent international flight.

Dick and his wife traveled on Delta to Europe, where they embarked on a fantastic cruise through the most northern parts of the continent. They cruised along the coast of Norway, up into the Arctic Circle, and back down again. They visited the fjords and came within a creek of Russia. All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime.

After two and half weeks away, Dick and his wife were ready to head home. But when they got to the airport, they were shocked by what they found. The airline had moved their flight back an entire day!

Dick and his wife were not prepared to spend an extra day away from home. They had no accommodations and were all set to get back to their lives. Instead, they had to make last minute reservations at the airport hotel, an extra cost that had not planned on. The next day they were able to get onto their flight.

But when they arrived in their connecting airport, they found another surprise. When they got back to the States, their connecting flight in Virginia had no idea that their first leg was delayed by a day! They tried to make the flight and were told they weren’t on the manifest. They were supposed to be on the previous day’s flight, even though their first leg had been moved a day.

Eventually, Dick and his wife did get home to Georgia, but not without some serious questions for Delta. Why had they made this change? And, more importantly, why hadn’t anyone contacted him when the change was made?

Dick tried reaching out to Delta, but all he got was an offer of 10,000 SkyMiles, worth about $107. That didn’t even cover his costs for the hotel he had to book at the last minute. So he set out on a letter writing campaign and contacted several different organizations, including TrustDALE.

We got in touch with Delta and asked them what had happened. In the end, Delta issued Dick an apology and a check to cover his expenses from the rescheduled flight.

We’re glad that Delta finally made it right for Dick and his wife, but we regret that it took them so much prodding to provide the customer service Dick rightly expected.